Which Declaration signer was the oldest, at age 70, when America declared independence?

Benjamin Franklin was the oldest signer of the Declaration of Independence, at age 70.

Franklin was a Pennsylvania delegate to the Second Continental Congress and a member of the Committee of Five that presented the Declaration to Congress. By 1776, he was already internationally known as a printer, scientist, inventor, diplomat, and public official.

His age stood out among the delegates. Edward Rutledge of South Carolina, by contrast, was the youngest signer at 26. Franklin's participation therefore links the Declaration to an earlier generation of colonial leaders as well as to the younger revolutionaries who shaped the new nation.

Franklin later played a leading diplomatic role in securing French assistance during the Revolutionary War. His signature on the Declaration is sometimes confused with his signature on the Constitution, which he signed in 1787 at age 81. The America250 anniversary recalls his earlier role in the 1776 independence movement.